Method and apparatus for communicating using pictograms

ABSTRACT

A device for communicating, preferably between two people who could not normally orally communicate, by at least one user pointing to pictograms on the device. The device can be a static medium having a plurality of icons thereon or can be part of a computer generated program having a graphic display that is either moving or stationary so that a user can select at least one icon to communicate an idea. When two or more people use the device to communicate, the device enables a dialogue to develop between the people. A first responder to an emergency situation could use the device in any country to gather information to quickly respond to the situation.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a communication device. The device isused for communicating between language challenged people, for example,between two people that do not have a common language or between a firstperson and a second language impaired person.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Communication devices of this type are known in general, especially asforeign travel aids. The inventor's prior invention is a languagecommunicator having a plurality of pictograms on a plurality of foldablelaminated sheets. A traveler may use this language communicator toattempt to communicate with people in a foreign country who do not speakthe same language as the traveler.

The traveler would point to a specific pictogram that depicts a specificconcept such as whether a room has a shower or a double bed. However,the above noted known communication device is limited to a generaldomain.

Other known language communication devices include flip charts thatcombine written language and pictograms such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,871,115to Glass et al. However, language communicators of this type are limitedto one specific language that a person is trying to communicate in.Specifically, if an English speaking person were attempting tocommunicate in Spanish he would use one translator, but if he wanted tocommunicate in French or some completely different language like Arabic,he would need a separate device. While this type of device may beacceptable for travel to a foreign country, a single device that isindependent of written language would be more time efficient and costefficient to convey a wider set of language concepts.

The idea of a language communicator is not restricted to a device that aperson can carry with him such as the above foldable device, but can beused with other mediums such as a computer display. U.S. Pat. No.5,169,342 to Steele et al. teaches an interactive method ofcommunicating by arranging a plurality of icons in a row on a computerscreen so that taken together, the plural icons form a sentence.

However, there is a still a need for a simple device to quickly andclearly communicate without any written language that can be used tocommunicate between people that each speak a different language or areunable to speak such that a plurality of different languages can becommunicated using a single device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the invention to have a visual language communicatorthat overcomes the problems of the prior art.

Another object is to have a visual language communicator that canquickly and easily be used to translate a plurality of languages into asingle language readily understood by the holder of the communicator.

Yet another object is to have a visual language communicator that can beemployed using a variety of media.

Still yet another object to have a visual language communicator that isable to convey complex ideas by having enhanced graphics that accompanya pictogram denoting the idea.

Further yet another object is to have a communicator which, in use, notonly allows one person to communicate with another person that does notspeak the first person's language, but also allows the second person tocommunicate with the first person so that a dialogue can be establishedbetween the two people.

Further still another object is to have a communicator that can be usedin any part of the world by first responders to an event to quickly andaccurately make a determination of what happened to enable a fastresponse to assist a witness to the event or gather information from theevent to respond to the event.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other further objects and advantageous features of the invention will bemore readily apparent in connection with a detailed description of thedrawings in which:

FIGS. 1-20 collectively represent a foldable translator;

FIG. 21 shows FIG. 1-20 connected together as a foldable translator;

FIG. 22 shows the translator of FIG. 21 folded almost completely;

FIG. 23 shows the translator of FIG. 21 completely folded; and

FIG. 24 shows a computer display of a large pictogram and several smallpictograms related to the large pictogram.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

FIGS. 1 through 23 show a foldable pocket sized translator according toa first embodiment of the invention. FIGS. 1 though 20 show twentypanels that are connected together at respective edges as further seenin FIG. 21. Although ten panels having items depicted on front and rearsides are shown, a single panel or more than ten or any number inbetween can be used. Preferably, the amount of panels is less thantwenty so that the panel can be accessed quickly and easily foldable tofit inside a user's pocket.

The panel 1 of FIG. 21 corresponds to FIG. 1 and denotes a cover for thedevice. However, a cover is not required and pictograms could bedisplayed on panel 1.

In the specific embodiment shown in FIGS. 1-20, the device is a medicalvisual language translator. However, the translator can take manydifferent forms and be for example a military translator depictingmilitary vehicles, flags of nations, weapons, modes of transportation,pictograms helping to identify a person or persons' physicalcharacteristics and other information that a military person in amilitary scenario would find useful when trying to communicate with aperson who does not speak the same language as the military person. Thetranslator could also be specific to police personnel, or morespecifically military police enforcement, school officials, CIA or FBIoperatives, FEMA or other disaster relief responders, maritimecommunication or any other first responder to a specific scenario.

Accordingly, a first responder responding to an accident, a militaryincident, a crime, a natural disaster or the like preferably uses thevisual language translator to assist in helping at the scene of theevent.

In the embodiment of the medical visual language translator of FIGS. 1through 20, FIGS. 2 through 18 depict pictograms related to a medicalemergency such that a user of the medical visual language translator canrespond quickly to the medical emergency.

Unlike previous communication devices, the visual language translator ofthe present invention can be used as easily in the United States asoverseas. Specifically, an emergency medical technician (EMT) couldcarry the medical visual language translator to communicate with aforeign speaking person or to a person that cannot speak due to themedical emergency or for some other reason or even to communicate to aperson who is deaf.

At the scene of the medical emergency, the EMT would present thetranslator to the victim or a bystander to attempt to communicate withthe victim or bystander. Since the visual translator is laid out in anorganized fashion, the communication would be quick and accurate toprovide assistance without delay.

Various medical emergencies are denoted in FIGS. 2-4 and 6-8. Each ofthese figures includes a larger pictogram related to a general conceptand a plurality of smaller pictograms depicting a specific conceptrelated to the general concept.

For example, as seen in FIG. 3, a child may have ingested something thathas made him ill. The victim or bystander pointing to the child in thepictogram would convey a general understanding of what happened andwould immediately convey this concept to the EMT. Accordingly, therelatively larger pictogram of an ill child is the general concept thatis easily understood by the victim or bystander and stands out from theother pictograms because of the relatively larger size of thispictogram. The victim or bystander would then point to a specific causeof the child's illness so that the EMT could provide specific treatment.There is no need to flip any pages or go to an adjacent page, becausethe general concept and the specific concept related to the generalconcept are on the same panel for quickly treating the emergency.

If the child is able to point to the communicator, panel 5 depicted inFIG. 5 shows a pain scale with pictograms showing differing levels ofpain. A numerical scale or short English or non-English language phrasesor a combination of any of these items may accompany the pictograms toaid in communication.

As seen in FIG. 9, if the EMT was not immediately on the scene, paintype and duration can be communicated by pointing to the pictograms inFIG. 9.

The visual language translator can be folded so that panels that are notnormally adjacent one another become adjacent one another to provideadditional information. For example, panel 10 as seen in FIG. 10 can befolded to be immediately adjacent panel 3 that has FIG. 3 thereon. Inthis manner, the EMT can assess general symptoms of the child that flowin a logical sequence from FIG. 3, so that the EMT does not have to flipthe translator over to communicate. From this it can be seen that hereis communication between the victim and/or the bystander and the EMT andalso vice versa so that a dialogue is, established.

In addition, as seen in FIG. 10, some of the pictograms have attributesthat connote additional meaning. Specifically, squiggly lines andblurred images help provided added meaning to emphasize that thepictogram denotes a seizure. These attributes can also be seen in FIG.19, which depicts further pictograms for symptoms that are body partspecific.

Other panels depict information that may be communicated if the victimneeds to be admitted to a hospital, such as personal informationdepicted in FIG. 11 or background information as depicted in FIG. 18.

The medical visual language translator can also be used to communicatethe treatment to be performed as seen in FIG. 12, for example.

FIG. 13 depicts pictograms for treatment that is performed by the victimsuch as frequency for changing bandages or when to return to a doctorfor a follow-up visit.

FIG. 14 depicts pictograms related to medication to be taken includingwhen the medication should be taken and what to avoid when on themedication.

FIG. 15 depicts specific types of medications such as tablets, injectedmedications, inhalants, liquid, etc.

FIG. 16 depicts another general scenario where the relatively largepictogram depicts a man suffering from an allergic reaction and theplural smaller pictograms depict certain food items, medications oranimals that may have caused the allergy.

FIG. 17 shows specialist a patient may have to visit depending upon aspecific medical condition.

Panel 20 is on the reverse side of panel 15 and depicts FIG. 20, whichin the folded position as seen in FIG. 22 is the back cover of thevisual language translator. FIG. 23 shows the front cover of FIG. 1,when the translator is fully folded and ready to be stored in a pocketor other relatively small, easily accessible location.

As noted above, the medical visual translator is but one example. In amilitary visual translator a military stylized cover would replace panel1. Additional panels are structured and arranged to enable dialoguebetween at least one of military personnel that speak differentlanguages and military personnel and civilians. In this example, panel 2comprises pictograms of flags of various nations. Panel 3 comprises apictogram of a world map identifying countries of the world. Panel 4comprises pictograms of military vehicles including military airtransport and military ground transport. Panel 5 comprises pictograms ofmilitary weaponry and communication devices including artilleryweaponry, bombs, handheld military weapons, land mines, military radios.Panel 6 comprises pictograms of characteristics including physicalcharacteristics of one of military personnel, paramilitary personnel,civilians and hostile people in civilian attire, attire for one ofmilitary personnel, civilian, paramilitary and hostile people incivilian attire including colors of the attire. Panel 7 comprisespictograms of terrain, man-made structures traversing the terrain,non-public transportation for traversing the terrain and the presence ofmilitary guard posts along the terrain. Additional panels depictservices and personal needs of the military personnel.

The specific pictograms shown on the translators are related to variousother scenarios as noted above including maritime communication, lawenforcement and humanitarian relief. These types of scenarios relate towhat are considered First Responders Domain (FRD) because the peoplethat would typically use a visual language translator would be the firston the scene whether that scene is a car accident, a crime scene, or anairport. Accordingly, various other FRDs exist such as immigrationofficials, jailers, and airline security personnel.

Often times, an FRD may use technical vocabulary that is specific tothat domain or at least is difficult to convey and may not be knownoutside of people that work in that domain. Accordingly, to enhance theeffectiveness of the icon, text may accompany the icon. In addition,instead of having a single icon to communicate the idea of a missile,for example, several different missiles may be depicted with a humanfigure adjacent the missiles to determine a size of the rocket to moreaccurately communicate the specific terminology associated withmissiles.

An important aspect of the present invention is mapping theinformational requirements of an FRD to the icons. The icons aredesigned to be cross-cultural so that they can be understood by anyculture whether or not the language of that culture is based on the 26letter Latin alphabet. Users of languages based on the Greek, Arabic,Chinese, Japanese or any other language equally understand the icons.

The embodiment of FIGS. 1-23 is a foldable pocket sized embodiment.However, the visual translator of the present invention can takedifferent forms. The pictograms or icons can be placed on a grid. Theycan be printed on a substrate that allows use of an erasable marker.These types of displays are considered static. In a preferredembodiment, the icons are sequentially placed so that a set of images isaccessible in an optimal order as dictated by the scenario at hand.

For example, in the medical visual language scenario, first the natureof the problem is communicated (What happened?). Then, symptoms and keybackground information are communicated. Treatments, procedure, requestsfor the patient are subsequently communicated so that a dialogue hasbeen established through the use of the communicator. Such a sequencecan be laid out on the static version of the communicator. However, thepictograms can also be computer generated.

In the embodiment of FIG. 24, the relatively large pictogram isdisplayed on the same screen with a plurality of the smaller pictogramsthat are related to the larger pictogram. However, the pictograms couldbe displayed in rapid linear succession. In either the static form orthe computer form, the pictograms could be arranged hierarchically,sequenced and color-coded to allow a stylus or finger to point to one ofthe pictograms or visually scan though a plurality of pictograms. Inthis way, functionality and cognition are directly linked to thearrangement of the pictograms. Accordingly, a general concept is readilycommunicated.

When a computer display is the medium, information is quicklyaccessible. By having the graphics available in a rapid linearsuccession or in an area that can be selected from, for example a groupof weapons displayed together, the information can be relayed quickly.An advantage of the computer display is that the graphics can be eitherstatic similar to the foldable device or the graphics can change.

The graphics can change to include: color, shape, brightness, speed,direction, rotation, scaling, shifts in 3-dimension perspective,patterns, gradients, shape, true animation, video, sounds, flashing,rate of flashing, etc. The computer inputs to control the display canalso vary and can include: a mouse, a stylus, a light beam, headpointer, voice recognition, track ball, track pad and various otherdevices known to those in the computer art.

An important aspect of the invention is that a dialogue can beestablished. For example, in the law enforcement domain, wherein thescenario is a stolen car, pictograms denoting the scenario could bepointed to by both an officer and a bystander to determine: that it wasa car that was stolen (instead of a van), the color of the car, theyear, make, number of doors, status of the locks and key prior to thetheft, location last seen, and relatives who may have a key etc.Accordingly, the present invention differs from the prior art teachingaids where there is no dialogue, just a monologue.

Thus the scope of the invention should be determined by the appendedclaims and their legal equivalents, rather than by the examples given.

1. An apparatus for communicating by pointing to pictograms on theapparatus, comprising: a static medium having a plurality of iconsthereon so that a user can select at least one of said plural icons tocommunicate an idea.
 2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, whereinsaid icons are arranged at least one of hierarchically, sequentially andby color code to enable the user to quickly point to at least one ofsaid plural icons using one of the user's finger and a stylus.
 3. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 2, wherein the icons are readily erasable.4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the icons are structuredand arranged so that the functionality and cognition of said icons isdirectly linked to the arrangement.
 5. An apparatus for communicating bypointing to pictograms on the apparatus, comprising: a plurality ofadjacent panels foldable into a pocket-sized device, each of said pluralpanels having a plurality of different pictograms on first and secondsides, each panel comprising one pictogram depicting a general conceptand a plurality of smaller pictograms depicting a specific conceptrelated to said general concept.
 6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5,wherein at least one of said plural smaller pictograms have an attributethat connotes added meaning.
 7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5,wherein the general concept is a medical emergency and the pluraldifferent pictograms depicts scenarios related to the medical emergency.8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 7, further comprising: at least oneadditional panel that depicts additional pictograms related to atreatment for the medical emergency and at least one still additionalpanel that depicts pictograms related to medication instructions to befollowed by a victim of the medical emergency, said pictogramscomprising medication quantities, modes of delivery when to take themedication.
 9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein saidpictograms denote information related to medication restrictions andside effects.
 10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8, furthercomprising at least one yet additional panel that depicts furtherpictograms related to a background of a victim of the medical emergency.11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, further comprising Englishlanguage text adjacent at least one of said plural smaller pictogramsthat describes said one of said plural smaller pictograms.
 12. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 5, further comprising at least oneadditional panel that depicts English language phrases and correspondingnon-English language phrases.
 13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 12,wherein said at least one additional panel further comprises phoneticphrases corresponding to the non-English language phrases.
 14. Theapparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein said plural pictograms depictelements related to military communication and the plural pictograms arestructured and arranged to enable dialogue between at least one ofmilitary personnel that speak different languages and military personneland civilians.
 15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 14, wherein theapparatus is a military communicator and wherein a first one of saidplural panels comprising pictograms of flags of various nations, asecond one of said plural panels comprising a pictogram of world mapidentifying countries of the world, a third one of said plural panelscomprising pictograms of military vehicles including military airtransport and military ground transport, a fourth one of said pluralpanels comprising pictograms of military weaponry and communicationdevices including artillery weaponry, bombs, handheld military weapons,land mines, military radios, a fifth one of said plural panelscomprising pictograms of characteristics including physicalcharacteristics of one of military personnel, paramilitary personnel,civilians and hostile people in civilian attire, attire for one ofmilitary personnel, civilian, paramilitary and hostile people incivilian attire including colors of the attire, and a sixth one of saidplural panels comprising pictograms of terrain, man-made structurestraversing the terrain, non-public transportation for traversing theterrain and the presence of military guard posts along the terrain. 16.A method of communicating between a first responder to an event an aperson at the event that is voice disabled, language challenged or deaf,comprising the steps of: providing a portable language communicator;using said portable language communicator to initiate a dialog betweenthe first responder and the person.
 17. A method of communicatingbetween a first responder to an event and a person at the event that isvoice disabled or language challenged, by pointing to pictograms on aportable visual language translator, comprising the steps of: presentingthe language translator to the person; having the person point to atleast one pictogram on said language translator indicating an event thatmay require the first responders assistance.
 18. The method as claimedin claim 17, wherein a plurality of pictograms are sequenced so that aset of images are accessible in an order specific to the event andfurther comprising the step of pointing to said plural pictograms to layout said order in a logical time dependent sequence to attempt torecreate the event.
 19. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein saidstep of having the person point comprises the person pointing to a firstpictogram on said language translator indicating a general nature of theevent that occurred and that may require the first responders assistanceand having the person point to a second pictogram on said languagetranslator indicating a specific nature of the event that occurred, thespecific nature being directly related to the general nature.
 20. Themethod as claimed in claim 17, further comprising the step of creating adialogue between the first responder and the person by both the firstresponder and the person pointing to pictograms.
 21. The method asclaimed in claim 17, further comprising a step of the first responderpointing to a third pictogram to indicate an action to be performed bythe first responder to address the event.
 22. The method as claimed inclaim 21, further comprising a step of the first responder pointing to afourth pictogram to indicate a procedure to be followed by the personafter the action has been performed by the first responder.
 23. Themethod as claimed in claim 21, further comprising a step of the personpointing to a plurality of pictograms on said translator to indicateinformation regarding the person's background prior to performing theaction.
 24. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the step ofpresenting the language translator comprises unfolding a pocket sizedtranslator.
 25. The method as claimed in claim 24, further comprisingthe step of folding the language translator so that two panels that arenot directly adjacent each other are moved adjacent each other so thatadditional meaning can be ascertained from the two panels.
 26. Themethod as claimed in claim 17, wherein the step of presenting thelanguage translator comprises showing the person a computer screendisplaying the pictograms.
 27. The method as claimed in claim 26,wherein the pictograms are displayed in a rapid linear succession. 28.The method as claimed in claim 26, wherein each step of pointing to apictogram comprises selecting the pictogram with a computer recognizedinput selected from one of a stylus, a mouse, a light beam, a headpointer, voice recognition, a track ball and a track pad.
 29. The methodas claimed in claim 26, wherein the pictograms are at least one ofstatic, changeable and animated.
 30. The method as claimed in claim 29,wherein the pictograms have attributes that connote additional meaningselected from at least one of color, shade, sound, speed, direction,rotation, scaling, shifts in 3-dimensional perspective, patterns,gradients, shape, true animation, video, sound, flashing, rate of flashand brightness.
 31. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the eventis one of a medical emergency, a fire and rescue disaster, a lawenforcement emergency, part of a military operation, maritimecommunication, disaster relief and a natural event requiringhumanitarian aid.
 32. The method as claimed in claim 17, furthercomprising the step of the person sequentially pointing to a pluralityof pictograms to convey a complex idea that is not conveyed by a singleone of said plural pictograms.
 33. A device for a language orvoice-challenged person to communicate with a medical professional, saiddevice comprising: a plurality of adjacent foldable panels that areattached to one another and are foldable to fit inside a pocket of auser's clothes, each of said panels including a plurality of readilyidentifiable pictograms, at least one of said panels comprising a firstpictogram depicting a general medical emergency and a plurality ofsecond pictograms depicting a specific medical emergency related to saidfirst pictogram, wherein a first one of said panels depicts said generalmedical emergency as a bite depicted by a human body part having a bitemark and said plural second pictograms depict possible causes of thebite, wherein a second one of said panels depicts said general medicalemergency as a fall depicted by a person in a supine position and saidplural second pictograms depict possible causes of the fall, whereinadditional second plural pictograms depict possible surfaces fallen ontoand a height of the fall, wherein a third one of said panels depictssaid general medical emergency as ingestion of an item that should notbe ingested depicted by a child having a question mark on their stomachand said plural second pictograms depict possible items that should notbe ingested, wherein a fourth one of said panels depicts said generalmedical emergency as a vehicle crash depicted by a car hitting apedestrian and said plural second pictograms depict possible vehiclecrash scenarios, wherein additional plural second pictograms depictdetails regarding placement of passengers within the vehicle prior tothe vehicle crash, and wherein a fifth one of said panels depicts saidgeneral medical emergency as an allergic reaction depicted by anill-looking person and said plural second pictograms depict possibleitems that may have caused the allergic reaction.
 34. The device asclaimed in claim 33, wherein another one of said plural panels depictspictograms showing possible symptoms of the medical emergency, whereinstill another one of said plural panels depicts pictograms related totreatments of the medical emergency, wherein yet another one of saidplural panels depicts pictograms that specify medication instruction fortreating the medical emergency, wherein yet still another one of saidplural panels depicts pictograms related to instructions for the personto follow after treatment of the medical emergency, wherein yet stillfurther another one of said plural panels depicts pictograms toascertain personal background information of the person, wherein stillyet another additional one of said plural panels depicts pictograms toascertain the person's medical history.
 35. A method of gatheringinformation through visual identification, comprising the steps of:providing a portable visual translator; indicating at least oneuniversally recognizable pictogram on said visual translator thatdenotes a word or sentence related to a scenario.
 36. The method asclaimed in claim 35, wherein said scenario is law enforcement.
 37. Themethod as claimed in claim 35, wherein said scenario is military lawenforcement.
 38. The method as claimed in claim 35, wherein saidscenario is maritime communications.
 39. The method as claimed in claim35, wherein said scenario is disaster relief.